


U is for Ukraine

by Rose_of_Pollux



Series: Around the World in 26 Days [21]
Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 20:50:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11321475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: In which Illya takes Napoleon to see what remains of his childhood home.





	U is for Ukraine

**Author's Note:**

> The young cat burglar story was one of Ducky's from an ep of NCIS; it more than fits for Illya.

There wasn’t much to what remained of the small house and the tree that Illya led him to on a street in Kiev. But he knew it meant the world to his partner—it the days of his childhood, before the war, this was what Illya had known as home.

“It is… smaller than I remember,” Illya said, sheepishly. “Nothing at all like the large house you grew up in.”

Napoleon hadn’t wanted to say it, but the place was, indeed, small—with the wall on one side fallen away, he could see the interior. Sure enough, it was tiny—a tiny sitting room, a tiny kitchen, a tiny bathroom, a staircase that led to a tiny master bedroom, and a second tiny room that overlooked the tree.

“But it had everything you needed,” Napoleon said. He paused and imagined his partner growing up in this tiny house. It was so different from the luxurious childhood that Napoleon had known. Though he had known of it from his partner’s stories, it was still a humbling experience to see it firsthand.

“It did,” Illya said. “That tree was a veritable playground; I spent a lot of time on it. And once I tried to pretend to be a cat burglar.”

“What happened?”

“Fell down trying to get to the roof next door and bruised my coccyx,” Illya said, ruefully. “The fall did not prevent my mother from giving me an earful, particularly once she saw that it was only that and my pride that were wounded.”

Napoleon gave a slight chuckle.

“Your mother sounds a lot like mine; Ma wouldn’t have shown me any sympathy if I’d pulled a stunt like that…”

“I guess it is the universal code of motherhood,” Illya said. He tried to smile, but it was very forced.

“Illya?”

“…I miss her, Napoleon. And my father, too. It is foolish, I know; it has been so many years, and I was a child—one would think I would have moved on…”

Napoleon now drew Illya into a tight embrace.

“You’re human, Illya. And you had so much stolen from you when you were so young. You didn’t deserve that.”

To his surprise, rather than trying to remain his usual stoic self, Illya returned the hug, clinging tightly to his partner.

“I have lost much, true,” he said. “But now I have gained much. And, perhaps, in the back of my mind, I fear losing this, too.”

Napoleon sighed.

“In our line of work, we can’t make any promises.”

“ _Da_ , I know…”

“But I can tell you that I’ll do my best to stay alive.”

“Thank you, Napoleon. And I will try to do the same.”

It was all they could do. They stayed and watched the house for some more time, and Napoleon listened to more of Illya’s stories about his childhood before the war—simple, yet full of excitement.

And Napoleon sent a silent message to Illya’s parents, hoping that, wherever they were now, they could hear him—

 _You don’t have to worry about him. He’ll be alright_.

The past was beyond their reach, but the future was still theirs to seize.


End file.
